Owen Wilson drops out of ‘Thunder’

Director Stiller supports actor's decision

Two days after being hospitalized for an attempted suicide, Owen Wilson has dropped out of the DreamWorks’ ensemble comedy “Tropic Thunder.”

Both DreamWorks and Wilson’s personal publicist declined comment.

Wilson’s frequent collaborator, Ben Stiller, began shooting the film in Hawaii six weeks ago. “Tropic,” which also stars Jack Black, is produced by Stiller’s Red Hour Films.

Wilson was scheduled to begin a weeklong shoot in two to three weeks. The decision was characterized as a mutual agreement between Stiller and Wilson.

“Ben and Owen have made eight movies together,” a source close to the project said. “And he can’t wait to work with Owen again. It’s just not going to be on this film.”

It is unclear whether Wilson’s role would be recast or eliminated from the comedy, which revolves around a group of actors shooting a big-budget war movie who are forced to become the soldiers they are portraying.

The pair starred together in the comedies “Starsky & Hutch,” “Zoolander” and “Night at the Museum.”